Southampton Film Week: Cult in the Vault - THE LOST BOYS

Southampton's eerie Lankester Vault provides a fitting setting for revisiting THE LOST BOYS

Friday 17 November 2017

by EAMMON JACOBS

Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander and Corey Haim in THE LOST BOYS (Joel Schumacher 1987)

Stepping down into the eerily cold Lankester Vault in Southampton, the rest of the world was muted. There was a chill in the air for the next 98 minutes as our world consisted of eighties rock, exuberant costumes and a darkly humorous tale about vampires preying the streets of the fictional town of Santa Carla. 

THE LOST BOYS (Joel Schumacher 1987) follows brothers Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam Emerson (Corey Haim) who relocate to the “murder capital of the world” with its soaring rates of missing and dead citizens. As the story progresses, Michael soon learns that a group of vampires are stalking his new home town.

The scenes shared between the overtly dry Frog brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander) and the lovably naïve Sam are meticulously pieced together. Using specific comic book references and vampire lore to bond as friends, the boys mount an assault on a pack of blood-sucking beasts. The vampires are led by the charismatic David (Kiefer Sutherland), who draws us in with his hypnotic gaze, lingering presence and whispered lines before pouncing on his victims. 

THE LOST BOYS is not a terrifying horror film but it boasts an individual style that separates it from many other vampire films and mythology. The film reworks the popular image of vampires as ancient, decaying monsters into youthful teenagers stalking the boardwalk. But the most striking aspect of the film is the quick-witted writing. The comedic undertone has had an obvious influence on the horror comedy sub-genre, as well as Hollywood’s vampire narratives. The older vampiric archetypes such as Nosferatu have their place in history but with THE LOST BOYS it has evolved into the seductive power of eternal youth.